Ugandan innovators and entrepreneurs have been urged to focus on ensuring sustainability and quality of innovations for society to reap from their creativity.

Experts noted that many start-ups barely celebrate their second anniversary due to the absence of both long-term strategies and distinctive quality ideas for business.

Prof. Wasswa Balunywa, the principal of Makerere University Business School (MUBS), said while there was an effort to support entrepreneurship in the country, the quality of ideas had generally remained poor.

Uganda is ranked as one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. According to a 2015 study by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 28.1% of adults own or co-own a new business.

“Entrepreneurship is supposed to be something that creates jobs, wealth, incomes. So why are we so highly entrepreneur, but poor? The reason is the quality of ideas. This calls for more training and research to foster useful entrepreneurship,” he stressed.

He was speaking during the Entrepreneurship and Innovations Demo Day at MUBS in Nakawa recently.

Team Nayastores receives their cash prize from Prof. Balunywa.

Held under the theme Think, Start and Act, the school’s alumni and current students showcased various start-up innovations, including Teheca, Toleyah, Tubayo, Finshares and Nayastores.

Namulwa Patera Higenyi, a first-year student of accounting at MUBS showcased The Platter, an app designed to help small-scale local food providers to handle their resources by offering a convenient, personalized experience to the vendors online.

Balunywa said the low quality of ideas can be attributed to inadequate exposure, entrepreneurs lack information to build the knowledge necessary for building viable business ideas.  

He also underlined the need for efforts to educate the population, with emphasis on science to have sustainable entrepreneurial projects that will transform the lives of Ugandans and Africans.

Balunywa emphasised that the attack on poverty should be enhanced by empowering young people to create businesses, encouraging students to continue being curious while pursuing their innovation endeavours.

He asked them to not only embed technology in their entrepreneurial actions but also look for and start businesses in the field of technology to advance the lives of the people in their communities.

The director of the MUBS Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Incubation Centre, Dr Diana Ntamu said through inspiration and mentorship, students are motivated to think about solving problems in the community.

“It has to be something that is creating change. After they are skilled, we identify the areas where they need improvement. This is done through partnerships with other players in the entrepreneurship ecosystem with whom students can work to improve and grow their innovations,” she said.

Ntamu highlighted that without proper mentorship, many innovators are frustrated along the way and give up for other ventures and jobs due to financial constraints.

“If you want to change the world, you don’t easily give up. You stick to that one thing, learn in the process, get help as you grow it, and ensure it is brought to fruition,” she said.

Ntamu said through activities such as Weekly Innovation Hour under a program code-named Startup Garage, students get inspiration from other innovations around the globe.

Arthur Mukembo, a venture builder from the Innovation Village, a start-up incubation hub, urged innovators and students to desist from copying ideas for their innovations to thrive.